Door News at PCBC and More

In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland the doorway is a sticking point — the heroine is either too big to squeeze through or too small to reach the handle. Well, if we added today’s wide array of entry door choices, as demonstrated at last week’s PCBC (Pacific Coast Builders Show) in San Diego, Alice could have entered Wonderland in a flash no matter what she ate or drank…then again maybe it would have taken a lot longer just to decide which door to open. In any case door choices are expanding. Here’s a quick run-down, prompted by my tour of the PCBC exhibit floor. Loewen now offers their series of aluminum-clad

glass doors in “Candy Apple Red” as shown in this sliding bi-fold unit. It’s one of many new colors included in their latest palette of architectural finishes,

from Ash Gray to Olive Grove. Of Loewen’s entire line of seventy finish colors, twenty-five are new this year.

Weiland Sliding Doors and Windows, Inc. showed a dramatic 13-foot tall “liftslide” door and the representative told me that the company makes a sliding door as tall as 16-feet. Now that’s tall, even for the larger Alice! One of Weiland’s

innovations is a track that rises only 3/16 of an inch above the finished floor for a seamless transition between indoors and out. In the photograph below you can see how the doors slide into pockets in the wall. Also see the outline of three

door sections in the overhead track (both photos courtesy Weiland).

Masonite introduced its clever MAX xpress Configurator at PCBC. It’s an application on the company website that allows you to create your own entry, interior, or patio door out of Masonite components. I found it helpful in understanding just what goes into a door: you select the type of glass (if any), the

door style, material and texture, configuration and size. As you can see from the tablet above, I chose clear glass, 2-panel Craftsman with dentil as the style, oak textured, on a single door. The result is Masonite’s 36- by 80-inch Belleville

fiberglass door, estimated to cost roughly $861. You can also upload a photo of your house and see how your choice looks in place. Okay, Alice — which doors make more sense — are you thinking Cheshire Cat Craftsman or Mock Turtle Modern…

Exit to the Patio

There will be more news from PCBC in a future post. Here are two products to help you enjoy evenings on the patio. Such as the granite topped “Vesta Fire Table” resembling an elegant bench, er hot seat — the stainless steel trough

holds a natural gas burner kit — from Stone Forest. Flames rise through a bed of glass pebbles (photo courtesy Stone Forest). Or how about this circular

hammock for a crowd from The Floating Bed (photo courtesy the same). It should help you swing into summer.